familypediawikiaorg-20200214-history
Ezra Thompson Clark (1823-1901)
}} Biography Ezra Thompson Clark a Patriarch, president of the High Priests' quorum of the Davis Stake of Zion and a resident of Farmington, Davis County, Utah. He was a natural financier and spent his means liberally in the interest of the Church, and not only did he fill a number of missions himself, but he also assisted a number of his sons to fill successful missions to different parts of the world. He is the only man in the LDS Church known to have lost two sons by death in the mission field. * Ezra James Clark (1846-1868) - had completed a mission to Great Britain, he died in Fonda, New York from over-exertion in hot weather while assisting a large group of migrating saints with their luggage to the railroad. * John Alexander Clark (1871-1895) - died on mission to Haifa, Israel. His gravestone played a key role in the LDS Church gaining recognition in Israel 90 years later. Elder Clark died at Farmington Oct. 17, 1901, leaving a large posterity. Early Life Ezra was born at Lawrenceville, Lawrence County, Illinois, Nov. 23, 1823, the son of Timothy B. Clark and Mary Keeler. He was baptized by Wm. O. Clark in Fishing River, Clay County, Missouri, in March, 1836, and was with the Saints during the mobbings of Missouri and Illinois. In 1845 he was ordained a Seventy and became a member of the 19th quorum of Seventy. Davis County Pioneer He left Nauvoo as an exile together with the rest of the Saints in 1846, and reached Great Salt Lake Valley in 1848. Together with a few other settlers he spent the first winter near the mouth of North Canyon in Davis County, Utah, about one mile south of Bountiful, and located in 1849 at Farmington, where he resided during there remainder of his life. When he crossed the plains in 1848 his earthly possessions amounted to a very little, but by industry and hard labor he succeeded in acquiring considerable property. When the Davis Stake of Zion was organized in 1877 he was chosen as a member of the High Council. Responding to a call from the Church authorities he assisted in locating the settlement of Georgetown, Bear Lake county, Idaho. He was ordained a Patriarch about 1895. Missionary Labors In 1856-1858 he filled a successful mission to Great Britain. In the year 1869 he went to the States after the remains of his son, Ezra James, who had died the year before while returning from a mission to Great Britain. In 1869-1870 he filled a short mission to the States, and in 1876 he labored as a missionary in Oregon and California. Marriage and Family Bro. Clark married three wives. Having yielded obedience to the principle of plural marriage he served a short term in the Utah penitentiary, having been convicted under the provisions of the Edmunds law of so-called unlawful co-habitation. 1st Marriage: Mary Stevenson Married Mary Stevenson, 18 May 1845, Clark Settlement, Lee, Iowa By his first wife, Mary Stevenson, he had eleven children, namely, Ezra James (who died in the missionary field ), Timothy Baldwin, Mary Elizabeth, William Henry, Joseph Smith, Hyrum Don Carlos, Edward Barrett, Charles Rich, Wilford Woodruff, Amasa Lyman and David Patten. 2nd Marriage: Susan Leggett Married Susan Leggett, 8 Nov 1861, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah By his second wife, Susan Leggett, he had ten children, namely, Seymour Thompson, Anna Vilate, Sarah Lovina, Susan Alice Bell, John Alexander (who died in the missionary field in Palestine), Eugene Henry, Nathan George, Marion Franklin, Laura Blanch and Horace Wells. 3rd Marriage: Nancy Porter Married Nancy Areta Porter, 11 Jul 1870, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah. Brother Clark's third wife, Nancy Porter, had no children by Bro. Clark. References * LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Andrew Jenson, Vol. 3, p. 343 * #137196 * Mormon Pioneers